


It Makes You Vulnerable

by KahtyaSofia



Series: Captain's Blog - S2 [8]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: Meat, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-17
Updated: 2009-11-17
Packaged: 2017-10-03 05:59:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KahtyaSofia/pseuds/KahtyaSofia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I am not a Gwen hater. I actually like Gwen and I like Eve Myles, too. However, the way she is written this season has gotten on my nerves a time or two and she's obviously a good dramatic complication for our boys. Had the characterizations not changed in S2, Owen would have been our antagonist for this series. It's not personal. Unlike a LOT of people, I don't think Jack loves Gwen. I think he cares for her. I think he values her. I think mostly she reminds him of Rose. I'm prepared to defend my stand.</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Tosh & Ianto Plan

**Author's Note:**

> I am not a Gwen hater. I actually like Gwen and I like Eve Myles, too. However, the way she is written this season has gotten on my nerves a time or two and she's obviously a good dramatic complication for our boys. Had the characterizations not changed in S2, Owen would have been our antagonist for this series. It's not personal. Unlike a LOT of people, I don't think Jack loves Gwen. I think he cares for her. I think he values her. I think mostly she reminds him of Rose. I'm prepared to defend my stand.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Tosh and Ianto are talking about in the background while Owen explains what he's found about the samples.

"There's a strong chance Harwood's is a part of what's going on," Tosh said quietly, so as not to be heard over the conversation being conducted in Autopsy.

"A chance, yes, but Gwen isn't going to readily accept it," Ianto replied, as he watched the haulage information flowing across Tosh's monitors.

"Can you really blame her for wanting to be protective?" Tosh asked.

"Not at all. But is she going to help us verify he's not involved so we can move on? Or will she be uncooperative with us before we have the facts."

"If she believes he's not involved…well, she knows him best. Shouldn't we take her word for it?"

"Tosh, I hid a partially converted Cyberwoman in the basement. Would you have said you knew me well enough to think I wouldn't do that type of thing?"

"Point taken." Toshiko conceded. "Is it fair for us to expect her to choose between us and Rhys?"

"She's free to stand down while we clear Rhys. And I really do think he's not involved. But I fear she'll try to obstruct our investigation in order to protect him."

"So, what do you have in mind?"

"We have the information we need to contact Rhys and either clear, or implicate him. First, let's see if she'll help us before we have to go around her. She might surprise me and cooperate fully."

"So what do we do?"

"Ask her what you would ask her if we hadn't already found the information we need. If we don't get the cooperation we need, I'll slip the details to Jack."

Tosh nodded in agreement.

~*~

Gwen refused to stand down, but to her credit she seemed cooperative. She'd readily provided Rhys' direct phone line, but then they'd hit a brick wall with the man himself.

Jack took note as Ianto strode quickly to the lower level of the Hub and stood just behind him. Jack was leaning casually against the railing in front of Tosh's workstation, observing the interaction between she and Gwen. He leaned down to take the hastily written details Ianto handed up to him. Jack felt the usual electricity as their fingers touched briefly, during the hand off. He glanced at slip of paper long enough to know that it was the information they had failed to get from Rhys. Ianto was surreptitiously letting him know they already had what they needed, regardless of Gwen's and Rhys' cooperation. He'd left it up to Jack to decide what to do with what they knew.

Gwen wasn't getting in their way, Jack noted. Surprisingly, it was Rhys who turned out to be the least amount of help. They didn't have enough to implicate him, but they certainly couldn't clear him, at this juncture. Jack casually stepped forward to hand Tosh Ianto's note, before he resumed his casual pose on the railing. 

This entire situation had Jack more than a little concerned. All the things he valued in Gwen, all the things that fueled his affection for her, had begun to get in the way of their investigation. The stubborn streak he normally appreciated, was blinding her to their duty to sort this out. It's not that Jack didn't want her to feel what she was feeling, but they needed her to behave professionally in spite of her feelings. Jack knew, first hand, how important it is to do that. The world might depend on it.


	2. Jack's Frustration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just one example of Jack &amp; Ianto's working dynamic. They aren't all just about the sex.

Jack threw down the slice of pizza he had been eating a moment ago. His annoyance and frustration with Gwen was growing by the second, and his appetite was receding. He had to agree that being overly clinical was not a good thing, but being overly emotional was equally destructive. They needed a balance, and together, he and Gwen usually provided an excellent balance. But today, she was running on pure emotion, and logic be damned. Torchwood be damned, and it was pissing Jack off.

It had been obvious when Gwen received a text from Rhys, so no one was surprised when she announced she was going home to check on him. It was obvious to everyone that they didn't have enough information to clear Rhys, and since Gwen refused to stand down, it fell to her to gather information about what he might know, and what the extent of his involvement might be. Instead, she'd openly defied Jack in front of the team again. They had a job to do and she had flagrantly chosen Rhys over them, before she had the facts.

Jack could tell by their expressions that the team had been expecting this outcome. They weren't surprised, but they _were_ disappointed that they had been right. Particularly Ianto. Despite his best intentions, Jack always ended up venting his frustration in Ianto's direction. It's just that Ianto was always there. Right when and where Jack seemed to need him to be.

Gwen's blind loyalty to Rhys was actually a slap in the face for Ianto, the more Jack thought about it. After all, he'd taken a chance of never seeing Jack again, and shot Owen, to keep the rift from being opened. There had been so many larger issues at stake than just Ianto's feelings for Jack, and he'd kept those in the forefront of his mind during the crises. That Gwen acted as though her feelings for Rhys had greater importance than Ianto's for Jack, was really quite insulting.

It wasn't as if Jack didn't understand what Gwen was feeling. Before discovering a Cyberwoman hidden in his basement, Jack would have bet his immortal life that Ianto could never, and would never, have done anything like that. He'd been wrong, though. The difference was that, when faced with the facts, Jack had accepted that Ianto had betrayed him, betrayed them, and then he'd done what he'd had to, to protect his team, and the world. Gwen was showing signs of blindly choosing Rhys over everything.


	3. On the Job Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Tosh &amp; Ianto are talking about in the background while Owen explains what he's found about the samples.

"I don't envy the position she's in," Ianto said to Owen, as they drove to the meat processing plant. "But she seems to have drawn a line in the sand, with herself and Rhys on one side, and Torchwood and the world on the other."

"Yeah," Owen agreed glumly. "Because she's got the relationship outside of Torchwood, her feelings matter more, and we can all sod off."

Owen and Ianto exited the vehicle and began to slog through the warehouse yard, to find the door through which they were supposed to enter.

"She's got Jack all tied up in knots, getting up in his face every time he gives us an order to do anything. He gets something out of their relationship, that much I understand, but when does the frustration outweigh the benefit?"

"That's for Jack to decide, Ianto. He's a big boy. He knows what he's doing. He's allowed all of us to make some pretty huge mistakes, to learn from them, and then move on. He's not going to give up on Gwen easily."

"You're right, of course." Ianto agreed, just before they were interrupted by Tosh in their com devices.


	4. Jack's Conflict

Ianto leaned against a table in the hydroponics bay. His hands were in the pockets of his trousers, his posture looked casual and relaxed, but Jack knew he was anything but.

Jack himself was pacing like a caged animal. So far, he had managed to keep his voice from becoming too loud, but Ianto was still bearing the brunt of an anger he wasn't responsible for.

"You realize that if Gwen had done her job and confronted Rhys, we'd already have this situation resolved?"

Ianto gave a non-committal shrug which suited Jack, since the question had been rhetorical anyway.

"If Rhys had shown up a few minutes later, you and Owen would have already been inside the slaughterhouse, and possibly in a great deal of danger."

"It wouldn't be the first, nor the last time, Sir. It rather comes with the job."

"Gwen's irrationality could have put you in unnecessary danger," Jack nearly shouted as he spun on a heel to face Ianto. "She's so caught up in protecting Rhys from something, she can't even identify that she's failing to do her job. We could _all_ suffer for it."

"What did she have to say when Rhys showed up at the slaughterhouse?"

Jack felt himself give an angry gesture as he resumed his pacing. "She started to break cover against my orders! You and Owen are out there, about to make entry in to a hostile building, and she starts to run out and give us all away!"

"She was thinking to protect the man she loves," Ianto stated what really should have been the obvious.

"Doing her job right, in the first place, would have prevented the situation. I still can't sympathize with putting all of us at risk for one person."

"How did you stop her?"

"How do you think I stopped her, Ianto?" Jack asked in a snide tone, before he could stop himself. Ianto really didn't deserve his derision, and yet, he stood firm and endured it, even encouraged Jack to keep talking. "I grabbed her and threw her up against a wall and held her there."

"I'm sure she hated every moment," Ianto said under his breath. Jack shot him a look and chose to ignore the comment.

"Of all the arrogance," Jack said to himself. Then to Ianto, "I don't care what you say about me being arrogant. Constantly challenging my authority, and my decisions, before she has the facts. That's arrogant."

"You have a point, Sir." Ianto concurred.

Jack looked in Ianto's direction to see if he was serious, but the usual implacable expression was in place, so he really had to idea. "It's not like I don't know what it's like to have someone I care about in danger, you know," Jack said sullenly. "She just doesn't listen anymore. It's like my orders are optional to her and that can't keep happening. She had no right to disregard your safety in favor of Rhys'." Jack gestured angrily toward where Ianto stood.

"Jack, you can't expect everyone to be able to read your mind and realize how concerned you might be for one, or all of us." Ianto pointed out calmly.

"You're right. I don't have the luxury of wallowing in my worry." Jack moved to stand directly in front of Ianto and folded his arms over his chest. "But it doesn't make it any easier to issue the orders that could end up getting you killed."

"You can stop sending me in to the field…" Ianto started, but Jack wouldn't let him finish.

"I have to let you do your job, Ianto." Jack resisted the urge to reach out and touch him. He was aware that they stood in full view of Owen and Tosh. "I can't keep you under lock and key, and I can't ride to your rescue in the middle of a mission. I've taught you how to stay alive, and now I have to send you out there and let you do your job."

"So, what do you plan to do about her, Jack?" Ianto asked placidly.

"She's asked to bring him to the hub," he told Ianto with a heavy sigh, pushing his own hands into the pockets of his trousers.

"She wants to…" Ianto started in disbelief. "Are you serious, Jack?"

He ran a hand along the back of his neck, trying to ease the tension there, and turned to resume his pacing. "She said she confessed everything to him and now he wants to see the Hub as proof."

"Are you seriously contemplating allowing that?"

"She also says he saw what the source of the meat is, and knows the inside layout of the location." Jack clarified. "That's intel we can use."

Ianto sighed heavily. "It's against the rules, but you can always retcon him after."

Jack nodded his agreement, running the fingers of one hand along his lower lip.

"Shall I go tell the others to prepare for a guest?"

Jack raised a single eyebrow. "I can just hear their gripes about making exceptions to the rules."

Ianto stepped away from his leaning table and headed for the exit. "They're more put out with Gwen's attitude, and the way she's handled Rhys, than they will be with you."

Then Ianto was gone.

Jack continued to pace back and forth along the catwalk, from the corner to the hydroponics bay, and back again. He was too agitated to sit. There was so much on his mind, his feet couldn't be still. Every so many steps, he paused to stare down at Ianto, where he stood leaning against a pillar sipping from a bottle of beer.

It soothed Jack somewhat, to stop and take in Ianto's long, lean form. His natural calm reserve always served bring Jack back down from whatever heightened emotional state he found himself in. It was obvious Ianto knew Jack was watching him, but it didn't appear the other two were aware. Every so often Ianto would glance back up at Jack, and their eyes would meet across the distance. Then he would look away and take another sip of beer. Jack made sure he was looking at Ianto each time the younger man looked his way.

Jack wondered if he could go down and join the three of them in a drink. He wondered if he should. Eventually he decided against it. He was entirely too agitated to be any fun, and they really did seem to be enjoying themselves as they were. In the end, he stayed were he was on the catwalk, and just watched Ianto. Locking eyes with him was better than any alcohol.

Jack realized he was really very happy that Ianto had found his place with the team. It had started with his friendship with Tosh, and had finally culminated with Owen. Now, he could stand quietly among them, sharing a drink and commiserating. Jack couldn't hear what they were saying, but he knew they were discussing the developments with Gwen.

He sure didn't want to lose Gwen. Already she seemed to be making the choice for him. If she kept up her current trend of choosing Rhys over Torchwood, he wasn't going to have any choice at all. That kind of prioritizing could get the team, and a lot of other people, killed.

Jack stood for awhile and just watched Ianto. He found he wished the coming confrontation with Gwen and Rhys was already over, and he could send everyone home but Ianto. He could really use some closeness right about now.


	5. How Do You Solve a Problem Like Toshiko?

"Have you thought about just asking him to do something with you?" Ianto asked Tosh. They sat in the hydroponics bay, keeping an eye on Gwen and Rhys where they sat on the divan. Owen had just left the Hub.

"I just did, Ianto!" she exclaimed in frustration. "He immediately turned it in to a Torchwood social event."

Ianto rolled his eyes at how clueless Owen was. "Well, don't give up, Tosh. Perhaps by being around you during a few Torchwood social events, he'll wake up one day and realize what is right under his nose."

"I think it's hopeless," she sighed.

"Unlike a year ago, he's aware of you on more than just a co-worker level. The things he said to you the night Jack came back, and the way he tried to comfort you the day we had to send Tommy back, show some sort of sensitivity to you as a friend and a woman."

"I thought I'd gotten over this after his things with Gwen and Diane. We all just got so much closer when Jack was gone, and old feelings resurfaced," Tosh explained.

"You do not have to explain renewed exposure causing revived emotions to me," Ianto said with feeling.

Tosh regarded Ianto for a long moment. "Falling for him again, are you?" she asked, partly amused, partly concerned.

"In spite of myself." Ianto's smile was self deprecating. "Who thought Jack could ever be _more_ charming, but his newfound openness gets very endearing."

"Oh, Ianto! And here I am blathering on about my own unrequited love!"

"Please, Tosh! It's not as though I mind our little talks."

"Except I seem to do all the talking! What do you think you're going to do about your own situation? I thought all the teasing and deliberately annoying him was just you being mad and acting out. Are you telling me you've been flirting, Ianto?"

"Would you have expected Jack to let himself be teased before he left?"

"Now that you mention it…no. It's like he's being outwardly stern with you, while laughing at your antics on the inside."

"That must be the case since I'm still alive." Ianto smiled.

Tosh smiled back. "Has he tried anything with you since he's been back?"

"Yes and no."

"We're talking about Jack. There is no middle ground. He either has or he hasn't, Ianto!"

"Let's just say he has expressed an interest that is different than it was before. I didn't have to say a thing. No laws laid down, no ultimatums. During our very first conversations after his return, he started telling me how he wanted things to change."

"But that's good, right? That's great!"

Ianto hesitated. "I think it might be. He's trying to sneak past my defenses this time, instead of storming them."

"Huh," Tosh said thoughtfully. "Who would have thought…a kinder, gentler Captain Jack."

"You could always take a page from Captain Jack's book," Ianto said to Tosh.

"How do you mean?"

"With Owen. Don't be discouraged, no matter how many times and in how many ways he says no. Turn everything into a flirtation and an innuendo. Touch him every chance you get. Just a light touch on a shoulder, the small of his back, his hand. It's more effective than it might sound."

Tosh actually laughed out loud. The delicate sound carried through the Hub causing Gwen and Rhys to look up and catch sight of the two friends sharing their private joke.

"Couldn't you just see me acting just like Jack! Both he and Owen would toss me in a cell, sure I was possessed by some sex crazed gas alien!"

Ianto joined her laughter. "You get my point, though. Press your case, albeit more subtly than Jack would, and don't be discouraged."

"Maybe I'll take your advice starting tomorrow," Tosh said, gathering up her things to leave. "For now, I'm going to go home and get some rest."

Ianto stood to follow her down to the lower level of the Hub. "Be safe, Tosh. See you in the morning."


	6. Objectivity Is Not Synonymous

Gwen and Rhys left shortly after Tosh. Before Jack had a chance to wonder where Ianto had gotten to, the younger man appeared in his office. He watched Ianto lean himself back on the edge of the desk, prop his hands on his knees and let his head hang down between his shoulders. He looked as tired as Jack felt. The conflicts of the day had taken a lot out of them all.

"You okay, Ianto?" Jack asked quietly, rubbing a hand up and down his tense back.

"I'm fine, Sir. Just tired." he gave Jack a wan smile.

Jack placed a kiss on Ianto's temple as he moved around the office. "I think we all are. What were you and Tosh talking about for so long?" Jack inquired with all sincerity.

"You," Ianto answered honestly.

Jack crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh, really?"

This was either really good or really bad.

"I told her I was thinking of letting my guard back down around you because you've changed."

One corner of Jack's mouth turned up. "Is that so? What did she say?"

"It amounted to 'congratulations'."

Jack chuckled. "Planning on telling anyone else?"

"Not right away, and especially not Gwen."

"Why not Gwen?" Jack asked in confusion.

"She's challenging you enough when she has feelings for you she thinks you don't return. She'd be worse if she got confirmation that you had actually placed your affections elsewhere."

"Ianto! How did you get so cynical?" Jack asked what was supposed to be a humorous question. Ianto's expression brought him up short and he looked away.

"Right. Stupid question."

"No matter, Jack," Ianto said lightly, then changed the subject. "Are you okay with the plan for tomorrow?"

Jack sat down in his chair and paused for a long time as he considered. "It's not optimal. I'd rather Rhys weren't involved and Gwen wasn't distracted. Other than that, it's a good plan."

They fell silent, then Jack finds himself asking, "Was I unreasonable today, Ianto?"

Ianto stood to regard Jack. "Not at all, Sir. The only person who had any issues with your actions and decisions today was Gwen. And it was her, that everyone else had issues with."

"What did you think of Rhys?" Jack asked, curious.

Ianto perched himself on his usual spot on Jack's desk. "I was pleasantly surprised when he didn't hesitate to stand up to you." Ianto told him with a smile.

"Enjoyed that, did you?" Jack asked with an answering grin of his own.

"Not particularly, but as you're a formidable man, it's always interesting when someone gathers the courage to stand up to you."

Jack considered this for a moment and realized it was, for the most part, a compliment.

"I think we find ourselves respecting Rhys because he's entirely out of his depth, but he's determined to be of help, and protect Gwen in the bargain."

Jack found himself agreeing. "It's an appropriate response from Rhys. Not at all appropriate for Gwen."

"Can you really blame her, Jack?" Ianto asked sincerely.

"I can, Ianto. I'm not asking anything of her, I don't have to do myself each time you're on a mission."

"So you've said," Ianto agreed quietly. "You tried to tell her that over and over today, but she's just not hearing you. She was especially obtuse when you went so far as to point out that love makes you vulnerable. You can't know that unless you've experienced it. She didn't want to hear anything that detracted from her own self-righteous emotions."

Jack put his head in his hands. "I hadn't planned on saying that. It was out before I knew it."

Ianto laughed quietly. "Tough-guy," he said under his breath and risked a look at Jack. "Have you thought about how we're going to take care of this creature after tomorrow?"

Jack shrugged casually. "We'll figure it out, Ianto. Between you, Owen, and me we're pretty smart and we'll figure something out."

"I must admit I'm confused. It's far from practical and yet you're determined that we do this."

Jack sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers in front of him. "You know that bad man I told you about, that held me captive during the time I was away?"

"Of course, Jack."

"When he had me, he chained me up between two walls by my wrists, and while I hung there, he killed me over and over and over." Jack found he couldn't look at Ianto when he told him this.

Ianto drew breath as if to reply, but in the end he only said, "Oh."

Jack loved that about Ianto. He didn't require a lot of detail to get the full picture, and once he understood what Jack was trying to say, he didn't belabor any issue.

"I can't help but fear that tomorrow will be too late for this creature," Jack said, as he stared off in to space. "If Gwen had done her job, and Rhys hadn't gone off the reservation, we'd have made it into that place today, and all of this would be behind us already."

Ianto reached out to run the backs of his fingers down Jack's cheek. "It's not likely a day will make any difference, for as long as the poor thing has already been a captive."

He was trying to be reassuring, which Jack appreciated.

Jack sat forward and placed his hands on Ianto's knees. "You don't think it's a bad idea to include Gwen and Rhys tomorrow?"

"It's too late to change the plan now," Ianto sighed. "Just keep an eye on Gwen. Her focus won't be on the tasks at hand."

"I suppose if Owen and Tosh had real issues with this, they would have said something by now?" Jack confirmed with Ianto.

"Oh, they have issues!" Ianto said. "Most of them stem from Gwen's presumptuous behavior. She behaves as though she's exempt from the rules and regulations, because she has a relationship outside of Torchwood."

"Have you told her that?" Jack asked, for information purposes only, not caring if Ianto wanted to go public or not. He'd left it up to him completely.

"No, but that's beside the point. Tosh and Owen are being made to feel as though their lives are less important than hers, because they don't have anyone on the outside that loves them."

Jack could only shake his head.

"She's more like you than she will ever admit, Jack," Ianto said quietly.

Jack looked up at him in confusion. "You mean Gwen?"

"When she told Rhys she'd be the one to kill him, if he cocked up tomorrow, I could swear she was channeling you."

Jack threw his head back and laughed. "I didn't kill you, though, when you cocked-up."

"For which I am truly grateful, Sir," Ianto shot back. "She's lacking your experience and your judgment, and she's completely unaware of that. She mistakes your ability to be objective, and separate your emotions from the task at hand, with being cruel and heartless."

"Funny you should say that. After you left the conference room, she said my desire to save the alien and return it through the rift, proved I wasn't heartless after all."

"And there she makes my point for me," Ianto said with a grand gesture.

"I don't mind her questioning me while we're working out the plan. You and Owen do that, too. You did that tonight! But once I give the order to proceed, you both fall into line and execute my instructions. Gwen continues to challenge, and it's really becoming counter productive."

They sat in silence for a long while, both thinking, as they held one another's hands.

Ianto finally spoke, "Are you sure you want to go with Rhys to pick up the lorry, tomorrow? Especially in light of the fact that he sees you as a sexual threat."

"Oh, the number of times I've heard that!" Jack laughed. "You know," he said, suddenly serious. "I looked up earlier and caught Gwen and Rhys kissing, and Gwen was watching me! What's up with that?"

"I'm thinking you just uncovered why Gwen is always challenging you, and why Rhys senses you're a sexual threat. For a moment this afternoon, I thought the two of you were going to come to blows. I didn't want to have to eject him from the Hub on his arse."

"Ianto! It's not like I was ever in danger from Rhys."

"I know that. I just didn't like him menacing you in that manner. You didn't think I would have stood by if he'd gotten violent with you?"

"Willing to defend my honor?"

"You're no good to me if you're missing certain body parts, Sir."


	7. There But For the Grace of God

Jack took his water bottle back from Ianto, and stormed over to his desk. He threw himself down into his chair and watched the CCTV footage of Gwen and Rhys, leaving the Plas together.

Having Gwen actually out of his line of sight seemed to calm Jack somewhat. The confrontation with Gwen just further confirmed his fear that she was pulling away from Torchwood. In those tense moments, face-to-face with her, Jack had been truly torn. He knew Gwen wasn't Rose, but so often her compassion for others made him feel as though the pretty blond was still around. Should he let her return to her normal life? Or hang on to her, as he hadn't been able to Rose?

It was now that Jack started to wonder if supreme secrecy was even necessary any longer. It was mandatory a hundred years ago but now, they're in the 21st century and things were about the change anyway. There'd been the Christmas Day Invasion and the Battle of Canary Wharf, with a Cyberman in every home. Was it necessary any longer for an outside relationship to be exclusive from employment at Torchwood?

Jack looked around for Ianto, and realized he'd never left. Again, he was right where Jack needed him, when Jack needed him. "Hey, Ianto?"

"Yes, Jack," he replied, stepping over to the desk.

"Was I wrong?"

"I don't think so, Sir, but only time will tell for sure. The real question is, can you live with having given in to her ultimatum?"

"This time, I think I can. Rhys is going to be discrete. Gwen will see to it. He's also a smart guy, he realizes what kind of danger she could be in, if he gets talkative."

Ianto only nodded in response.

Still, just to be safe, let's monitor their phones for the next month. Maybe the next two."

"I'll see to it, Sir."

"Do you think that, after all that's happened the last couple of years, Torchwood needs to remain such a secret from the world at large?"

"Jack? Have you seen the SUV lately?"

Jack laughed for the first time in most of the day. "Just because the public knows _that_ we exist, doesn't mean they know _why_ we exist."

"Point taken." Ianto conceded. "And I know what you're asking. I can't say that it would be a bad idea," he said quietly as he came to perch on Jack's desk.

Jack nodded thoughtfully, then lapsed back in to silence.

"Would you like some coffee, Sir? Anything to eat?" Ianto asked.

"I'm fine, but thank you for asking, Ianto. I have it so much better than Rhys does, you know?" Jack replied.

"Do you require an answer to that, Sir?" Ianto asked blandly.

"I'm just saying. Gwen brings Rhys a cold Danish in a paper bag, whereas from you, I get gourmet coffee, and toasted bagels," Jack explained with a wide smile. "You even warm my Danish for me, when you get me one. I definitely have the better deal."

"Yes, well, saving the world on a regular basis has its perks," Ianto replied.

"That it does," Jack mused.

Ianto was about to move away when Jack spoke again. "You were wonderful today, Ianto. I couldn't be more proud of you."

"Thank you, Sir," Ianto said with a small smile.

"Have I ever told you how utterly hot you are when you're being tough?"

"As a matter of fact, the last time I forcibly dragged a weevil into the vaults, you might have mentioned certain tingly sensations you experienced while watching," Ianto said drolly.

Jack felt his eyes glaze over as he recalled the memory. "Yes, that little scowl you get when you're shoving someone around," he sighed. "Hot!" He let Ianto see the heat in his gaze.

"Which is precisely the reaction I strive for while fighting for my life," Ianto said, most seriously.

"Seriously, though," Jack said. "I was frightened for you! But I left you to do your job and you did it very well! God knows you wouldn't have been taken hostage if Gwen hadn't asked you to keep tabs on Rhys."

"You taught me how to get free and stay alive, Jack. I'm only as good as your training. Also, I might have gotten caught on my own, you can't lay it all at Gwen's feet."

"Watch me. I guess I have some more to teach you, just to make sure you're always safe. Especially if Gwen is going to keep defying my orders and getting one, or more, of you into trouble." Jack paused to leer at Ianto. "Fancy some naked hand-to-hand combat training?"

"You and I naked, Sir," Ianto replied, with a barely discernable smirk. "Would lead to hand-to-many body parts other than hand, and combat would not be the end result."

"But it would be so much fun!" Jack growled.

"Perhaps I'll let you do a little mild groping during weapons training." Ianto smiled, then, "And Jack, I am sorry about those stray rounds that hit the alien during the disarm."

"I know, Ianto. If I had to choose between its life and yours, yours wins hands down."

"Thank you so much, Sir."

"You're welcome. I was just hoping that, for once, we could do something to help a stranded alien, instead of having to capture or kill."

"I understand. Which is why I feel bad. I heard your shout when I went for the gun. If I hadn't emptied it, though, I'd be dead."

"So, you remembered to count rounds?" At Ianto's confirming nod Jack added, "Good job."

"The entire time, I kept thinking about you, chained up and unable to get away. All the horrible things that were probably done to you, just because you'd survive them, kept running through my head. I really wanted to help you rescue the alien."

Jack gazed into Ianto's earnest eyes. "Thank you, Ianto. That means a lot."

"At least Owen was able to ease its passing. He's feeling badly about having to do that, but at least he saved Rhys."

"That reminds me!" Jack said angrily. "I'm really pissed I had to yell at you to get up and chase them down after almost having to watch you die, but Gwen was useless. As soon as Rhys was shot she stopped functioning all together. She was just going to sit there, over Rhys' body, while we all got crushed by that writhing creature."

"I would remind you that she was worried for him, but you're just going to remind me that you were worried about Tosh and me, so it's a draw."

"It nearly killed me to send you after them."

"I heard it in your voice. It actually helped to know that. Thank you for the help incinerating the creature, by the way."

"As if I'd make you handle that on your own, Ianto."

"I could have. I'm glad I didn't have to. Rhys was right about it's cries. They were pitiful. I can't imagine what it must be like to be in that position."

Jack's gaze became distant. He wasn't seeing anything that was currently in front of him. He was seeing things that had already come to pass. "There but for the grace of God…"


End file.
